Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 1.djvu/257

232 druggist was assured that he had reached the house, he cast the net over his shop and made for his house, misdoubting of his wife, and knocked at the door.

Now the singer had entered and the druggist’s wife said to him, ‘Arise, enter this chest.’ So he entered it and she shut the lid on him and opened to her husband, who came in, in a state of bewilderment, and searched the house, but found none and overlooked the chest. So he said in himself, ‘The house [of which the singer spoke] is one which resembleth my house and the woman is one who resembles my wife,’ and returned to his shop; whereupon the singer came forth of the chest and falling upon the druggist’s wife, did his occasion and paid her her due and weighed down the scale for her. Then they ate and drank and kissed and clipped, and on this wise they abode till the evening, when she gave him money, for that she found his weaving good, and made him promise to come to her on the morrow.

So he left her and slept his night and on the morrow he repaired to the shop of his friend the druggist and saluted him. The other welcomed him and questioned him of his case; whereupon he told him how he had fared, till he came to the mention of the woman’s husband, when he said, ‘Then came the cuckold her